Welcome to our mannequin identification page. This
page is under construction because as we are able to photograph various makes
and styles of display mannequins, we will include them on this page.
You may use this page to help identify your mannequin when you wish to purchase
repair/replacement parts. The information on this page is the result of a
combined experience of over 60 years working with display mannequins and
mannequin alternatives. Please note: We do not repair or
refurbish mannequins and our selection of parts is very limited. We
offer the information on this page as a service and not an offer to
provide replacement parts.

What Brand of Mannequin Do I have?

Hindsgaul Mannequins generally
have a butt tube and a square opening for a foot rod. The rod is composed oftwo square tubes and one slides within the other: This feature eliminates the
need for a thumbscrew in the butt tube. The shoulder fitting is
relatively small and rounded at the bottom of the slot.

Adele Rootstein Mannequins also have two
mounting points to stand them up, but seldom if ever have a thumbscrew in the butt tube. The
shoulder plate is often double thickness metal (i.e. two pieces) I believe
that the waist fitting spring can have it's tension adjusted with a screw
driver. If memory serves me correctly Rootsteins's often join at the waist with
a push/pull rod, if that is the case, the entire waist plate is metal & and
marked with their trademark). Domestic mannequins usually have a waist fitting
of metal that is less than 30% of the waist area. I have frequently seen Rootsteins using a Round rod in a square hole in
the but.

Decter Mannequins always have a
square bottom in the shoulder-fitting slot. The washer in the arm fitting is a
rectangle not an octagon.

Late model Asian mannequins
almost always have a round foot rod only. The shoulder fitting is quite a bit
like a Decter but a little smaller in diameter and width of slot. For some
reason the imports figure you wish to display pants but not with shoes!

Wolf & Vine/Grennakers
( This should work for a Patina V as well) shoulder fitting slots are
always v shaped in the bottom, The washer in the arm fitting is an octagon
not a rectangle. These usually have all the plates stamped the product
number & customer, at least in the past 20 years or so.

Wolf & Vine
for many years molded a hole in the head to facilitate the placement of glass
eyes instead of painted fiberglass ones. The head was molded with no eyes and the
ordered pair were installed later. The body was molded separately from the head
an there is a 1/4"-20 threaded insert in the neck for hanging. The head was
bonded on the neck, the eyes installed and the hole in the head capped with a Styrofoam
plug. The manufacturer's name was molded in near the top rear of the hole.

D.G. Williams are similar to the above but require a larger
hole in the key way. The thickness of the plate is a heavier, but not a double.
They frequently use a large square push/pull fitting to join the top to
the bottom. These Sears mannequins tend to have heavy shoulders on the arm part
and usually have a dark complexion on the Red side. Dark colored Wolf
& Vines tend more towards the brown.

Where did it come from? J.C. Penny bought a lot of
Patina V's and a few Decters are around. Display Managers frequently wrote the
model number of the unit on the unit in magic marker. In the late 80's
many of the 2nd tier J.C. Penny stores brought in an all plastic imported Italian
female that we call the plastic fantastic. Their fittings were unique to that
brand and overall very small relative to other brands. They were a pain to
repair and we never were able to get in any kind of inventory of repair or replacement
parts. These units were not made available to the major mall stores. The
shoulder fittings tended to pull out and we had a hard time finding an adhesive
to bond them back in.

Until they got out of mannequins Sears bought a ton of D.G.
Williams. High-end dept stores tend to favor, Hindsgaul (similar to John Nissen) and Adel Rootstein.)

Identifying a mannequin is a lot like pornography,
I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it.

If your unit pre-dates the 1970's and the fittings look
like D.G. Williams or Wolf & Vine it could be anything and the
only way to get arms is to try them. Older mannequins always have round arms at
the fittings. Now they some times have more elongated arms ( not fittings)
at the shoulder. Where does she separate at the waist? High waisted
mannequins with the navel in the legs are older and probably something else.
These units have plywood waist fittings. Decter made a bunch of the high waisted
jobs but they usually are all-metal waist fittings with two pins and no twisting required.
If you go back far enough, everybody used plywood for waist fittings with
a 2" nominal dowel as a waist pin. The only conclusion you can draw
from a plywood waist fitting is that it is 'vintage' and has a plywood waist
fitting.